Marketers All Agree on what the Most Overrated Marketing Tactic Is

Ask a room full of marketers from around the world to name the most overrated marketing tactic and their answers might not vary as widely as you think.

Once again, Hubspot’s yearly State of Inbound report notes that the most overrated marketing tactic is, drumroll please….outbound marketing! This fact hasn’t changed in years. Regardless of the type of marketer you are or what country you’re based in outbound is thought of as the most overrated strategy.

1/3 of marketers think outbound marketing tactics are overrated

Being that Dowitcher Designs is an inbound marketing-driven agency, it’s great to hear that the whole inbound thing is effective. Actually, it’s the success of inbound when compared to other marketing tactics that is so encouraging. Year after year, Hubspot has reported that surveyed marketers say they think outbound tactics are overrated. And guess what? According to Hubspot, outbound marketers agree with the consensus. Data from the 2016 State of Inbound Report details that 33% of inbound marketers and 31% of outbound marketers rank outbound marketing tactics as the biggest waste of time and resources. Gotta love when the data supports your company philosophies!

What constitutes outbound marketing, you ask?

print + outdoor + broadcast = traditional paid advertising = outbound

Concentrating your methods in these arenas isn’t your best bet. Compared to inbound marketers, outbound-ers struggle with proving ROI of marketing activities, pinning down the budget they need, and training or hiring staff.

Clearly, the marketing and sales world is becoming more inbound and less interruptive. There’s an emphasis on authenticity, which is refreshing. Traditional outbound marketing tactics, where marketers push their message as far and wide as they can, hoping to resonate with someone – anyone, is widely recognized as ineffective. Marketing on a whole has moved away from that and focus on getting found by people who are already interested in one’s industry.

Okay, but do inbound marketer’s believe in their organization’s inbound marketing strategy? Are they satisfied with the tactics they use? Glad you asked: Hubspot reports that 61% of marketers do think their company’s marketing efforts prove effective. Hubspot also found that inbound organizations were 4x as likely to rate their strategies highly. Hurray!

in the midst of various marketing challenges (we all got ’em!) such as generating traffic and solid leads, marketers at least know what doesn’t work well: outbound.

Now, all of this begs the question, what marketing tactic is most underrated? Should marketers be investing their time and money in something that doesn’t typically get a lot of attention? What gets your vote? Tell me in the comment section below!

If you haven’t started with inbound marketing yet, contact us! We’d love to talk inbound with you. Check out our past blog posts on the subject, like Six Steps to Successful inbound Marketing.

Hubspot’s State of Inbound Report is a comprehensive look at the current industry landscape. Download and enjoy!